Prohibition of Catching Thresher Shark Regulations 2012.

These Regulations shall apply to any fishing boats operated in Sri Lanka waters, or high seas and anchored in a Sri Lankan Port. No person shall catch Thresher Shark (species of the family Alopiidae) when engaged in any fishing operation, recreational or sport fishing. No owner or skipper of a fishing boat shall retain onboard, transship, land, store, sell or offer for sale any part or whole carcass of Thresher Shark. It shall be the duty of the owner or skipper of a fishing boat: to release Thresher Shark caught incidentally to the sea without any harm to the extent practicable; and to record of all the incidental catch and alive release of Thresher Shark in the log book maintained for the purpose. No person shall retain onboard, transship, land, store, sell or offer for sale any of Thresher Shark. The species of the family Alopiidae shall include Alopius vulpinus (Thresher Shark), Alopius supercitiosus (Bigeye thresher shark) and Alopius peiagicus (Pelagic thresher shark) as may be depicted in the Schedule attached to the text.